China trip

I returned from China yesterday. As this trip was organized for the general population and on a tight schedule I did not really get to much in the way of potteries or museums or other ceramic sites. The exceptions here were the workshop creating Terracotta warrior replicas, and the Banpo prehistoric site. The warrior workshop was working with a very fine ungrogged terracotta in molds the the thickness of about 1 1/2 inches. These were fired in coal fired kilns taking 3 days to fire. It is an interesting place, and I wish I had had more time to visit with them. The Banpo site had kiln remnants and much intact pottery. I was particularly impressed with the forms that were handbuilt resembling much of what we see in the way of pointed bottles from Egyptian and Mesopotamian pottery. We had a great trip, and I will try to post a few pictures later on that I took of pottery while there.

I'm headed to Yxing, China in about 1 1/2 weeks. My first time in China.

best,

.....................john

Yes, this was our first time there. The trip was arranged by our local Chamber of Commerce. They took a group last year and did Beijing and Shanghai basically. This year however they put in a side trip that 10 of us signed up for that went to Xi'an where the Banpo and the Terracotta warriors sites were. Food was great, I was concerned as I have T2 diabetes and do not eat white starches at all. Rice lovers would love it, but there is much to be eaten without rice so I had no problem. I have always believed and still do that the Japanese cuisine is "cleaner", but true Chinese is very good also. You should enjoy the food. The biggest draw back on the whole trip was the 13 hr plane ride!

I'm headed to Yxing, China in about 1 1/2 weeks. My first time in China.

best,

.....................john

Yes, this was our first time there. The trip was arranged by our local Chamber of Commerce. They took a group last year and did Beijing and Shanghai basically. This year however they put in a side trip that 10 of us signed up for that went to Xi'an where the Banpo and the Terracotta warriors sites were. Food was great, I was concerned as I have T2 diabetes and do not eat white starches at all. Rice lovers would love it, but there is much to be eaten without rice so I had no problem. I have always believed and still do that the Japanese cuisine is "cleaner", but true Chinese is very good also. You should enjoy the food. The biggest draw back on the whole trip was the 13 hr plane ride!

Dear All,

I too have been to see the warriors in-situ. They are absolutely incredible. Each one different. So hard to believe they were buried for so long and yet they are still are basically intact. I agree, the food was incredible on my trip to Beijing, Shanghai and mainland China. I remember thinking when we went to this exhibit, how will they ever feed all the people that were there that day. But alas, the food service was guuuureat. Did you get to try those little bottles of liquor they serve with meals?? Green bottles about 4 inches high. Maybe some kind of rice wine?? My sister and I didn't drink it but given the number of bottles of this stuff we encountered, if we did drink, and collected all this alcohol, it would have been a great party.